What Kind Of Man
by SamBelle
Summary: Professor McGonagall came rushing up the stairs. Her hair, for once, was hanging loose and she was wearing a purple nightgown. She went over to Hermione's bed and sat down on the mattress beside the sleeping girl. Hermione's face was covered with a thin layer of sweat; she was tossing and turning fitfully, muttering incoherently. Warning: sensitive topics are mentioned.


**A/N: So I set a challenge for myself to see how many fics I can write using Florence and the Machine song titles or lyrics as prompts. Anyway, enjoy and please review. For those who've commented on my other fics so far, thank you so much, you guys are the best.**

 **PS. I don't own Harry Potter.  
**

A soft whimper disturbed the silence of the 5th year girls' common room. Somebody was thrashing around in their four-poster bed. A soft thud was heard as a pillow hit the ground. One of the girls woke up and ran to go fetch Professor McGonagall. They all remembered what happened the last time they tried to wake her up.

Professor McGonagall came rushing up the stairs. Her hair, for once, was hanging loose and she was wearing a purple nightgown. She went over to Hermione's bed and sat down on the mattress beside the sleeping girl. Hermione's face was covered with a thin layer of sweat; she was tossing and turning fitfully, muttering incoherently.

"Hermione" Professor McGonagall said softly, stroking the girl's head. Last time they woke her she went into a panic attack and started screaming. "Shhh, it's alright, dear. You're safe" The professor kept talking while dabbing Hermione's face and neck with a damp cloth she had conjured. She could feel the girl's racing heartbeat when she placed the cloth on her skin. She had to wake the poor girl, and soon.

"Please stop" Hermione muttered. "It hurts. I won't tell" she cried out, a little louder this time.

Professor McGonagall closed her eyes to think. She had to wake Hermione. "Miss Granger, how dare you fall asleep in my class?" she said in her sternest voice. Hermione woke with a jolt.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean t-" Hermione said, trying to bolt upright but being stopped by the pain. She fell back with a hiss, slowly starting to realise what was going on.

"I had another nightmare, didn't I?" she asked. She placed a hand over her aching tummy. It was still sore from Professor Umbridge's 'questioning'. Silent tears ran over her cheeks as she recalled the nightmare she had just had.

"I'm sorry for waking you" she said in a shaky voice. Then the floodgates opened and she broke down in sobs. Professor McGonagall gathered her pupil against her chest, giving her a tight hug. Upon noticing that all the other girls were staring, she used her wand to close the curtains and cast a silencing charm. Hermione's been through enough, she deserved some privacy.

"Was it the same one as last time?" asked Professor McGonagall. Hermione nodded. "It was just worse this time. He did more and it hurt more" she said softly, averting her eyes to the mattress. The previous summer, Hermione kept getting really bad stomach cramps. Since the car accident when she was four, Hermione got these stomach cramps for no reason, but over the summer they became a lot worse. Her father had taken her to see a healer, and she discovered that Hermione had been molested as a child, but blocked out all the memories of it. Nobody knew who did it at first, but after a few therapy sessions with memory charms, Hermione identified the dark figure as her step-father. She, of course, couldn't prove any of this, but she still knew. She's been having nightmares and stomach cramps ever since.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Professor McGonagall asked gently. She and Madame Pomfrey were the only two teachers that knew. Ron and Ginny knew as well, but Hermione insisted on keeping it from Harry because she didn't want to add to his load.

"It was the same as last time. I was sleeping in my room, I saw the butterflies on the wall, and he put his hand over my mouth. He was drunk and used more force than necessary to undress me. He kissed my neck and my chest, pulling his pants down with his other hand. I begged him to stop, but he kept touching me. Eventually he thrusted into me. It hurt so much. I tried to scream but I couldn't. Then I woke up" Hermione explained, tears still streaming down her face.

"What kind of man does that?" she asked. "I feel so dirty and ashamed. I keep trying to figure out what I did wrong" Hermione whispered, running a shaky hand through her hair.

Professor McGonagall's heart broke. Her student deserved better than this. She should've been loved and protected, she shouldn't have been hurt and betrayed like this. "Listen to me Hermione, you have nothing to be ashamed of. This was not your fault-you didn't do anything wrong. Don't you ever dare think that" she said firmly. She needed the young Gryffindor to understand this, to fight against all the lies she was telling herself.

Hermione nodded before she broke down with new tears. Professor McGonagall stroked her head and back until she slowly slipped into the world of sleep again. The professor stayed a little longer to make sure she was having peaceful dreams this time, smiling as the calm finally spread over her tear-stained face once more. "Sweet dreams, dear" she whispered to the girl before kissing her head and getting up. She sat down in a nearby chair, determined to scare all the nightmares away from her innocent students.


End file.
